How Peeps Went From Easter Candy To Cult Classic

You can eat them, melt them, play with them, sculpt them, age
them, decorate them and name them. They are the subject of urban
legends, Pinterest posts and craft contests and have been
featured on "Good Morning America," "South Park" and "Jeopardy,"
to name a few. They are Peeps, and they've evolved from a classic
Easter candy to a beloved cult classic.

These marshmallow-puffed, sugar-coated, neon-hued creatures are
the product of Pennsylvania-based candy company Just Born, which
also makes Mike & Ikes, Hot Tamales and Goldenberg's Peanut
Chews. Peeps, however, have captured Americans' hearts, minds and
imaginations like no other candy. While Peeps' popularity may be
driven by populist support, Just Born has found ways to leverage
our fascination with Peeps and has helped cultivate the product
into an American icon.

Handmade Peeps

Peeps have been around since at least the 1950s, when in 1953, to
be exact, Just Born acquired the candy company that made Peeps —
by hand. Bob Born, son of Just Born's founder, Sam Born, quickly
went to work to modernize the process, resulting in a process
that today turns out 4 million Peeps a day.

For many decades, the terms "Peeps" applied only to classic
yellow marshmallow chicks with the brown eyes and wisp of
marshmallow tail. Today, there is a veritable menagerie of Peeps,
ranging from chicks to bunnies, ghosts, pumpkins and Christmas
trees. Not only that, there are now Peeps & Co. retail stores
located in Washington, D.C., at the Mall of America in
Bloomington, Minn., and in Bethlehem, Pa., near the company's
headquarters.

"Fans have long requested a store so that they could connect with
their favorite brands throughout the year," said Aubrecia Cooper,
of Peeps & Co. retail division. "[Opening stores] has been an
effort in the works for some time."

The cult of Peeps

Responding to fans' interest in Peeps is part of what has helped
the company continue to build
the brand. Embracing people's desire to create with Peeps is
another way the company has done that.

"We saw long ago that our fans love to create with Peeps," Cooper
said. "Then we noted the first Peeps diorama contests hosted by
the Pioneer Press and Washington
Post … and we recognized the excitement these types of
activities instilled among fans and we decided to support these
contests with free prize packages."

The company now also sponsors its own Peeps diorama
contest and posts listings to other contests on its
Peeps website.

Integrating its corporate brand with organic product-based
contests and pop culture mediums is part of the Peeps marketing
plan.

"We work hard to make sure our fans and media are always
stimulated with lots of great products and information," Cooper
said. "However, once an idea or product is out there, our strong
fan base certainly has a way of making sure our efforts take on a
life of their own."

The company has also embraced social media — its Facebook
fan page has 221,000 "likes" and it has become a
Pinterest staple with users sharing their favorite Peeps recipes
and creations. It also has some lower tech promotions, too. Its
Peeps chick car is currently touring the South and Midwest.

"We try to stay current by using social media, and we try new
strategies to build brand awareness," Cooper said. The company
also regularly creates and shares new Peeps recipes on its
website.

Its newest venture, the retail stores, will be rolled out slowly.
There are no immediate plans to open any more stores, she said.

"While we do intend to keep growing, we want to make sure that we
do so in the best interest of our customers and our business,"
she said. "We will work hard at refining our best practices and
finding great locations that fit our store’s essence."

Jeanette Mulvey has been the managing editor of
BusinessNewsDaily since its debut in 2010. She has written about
small business for more than 20 years and formerly owned her own
e-commerce business. Her column, Mind Your Business, appears on
Mondays only on BusinessNewsDaily. You can follow her on
Twitter
at @jeanettebnd or contact her via e-mail
at jmulvey@techmedianetwork.com.